Jacobs School, dental school welcome 199 new residents

Late last month, the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and the School of Dental Medicine welcomed 199 newly minted MDs and DDSs to UB and Buffalo.

During an early morning ceremony in the David C. Hohn, MD, Auditorium in the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, they helped each other put on their long white coats, at which point they officially became UB medical and dental residents.

The 199 incoming residents are from 16 countries including the U.S.; they include 43 Jacobs School graduates and nine School of Dental Medicine graduates.

After graduation from medical or dental school, residents are “matched” with a residency program where they train in a medical, surgical or dental specialty for up to seven years. The residents who took part in the ceremony will start their careers at UB, providing patient care under the supervision of UB medical and dental school faculty in Western New York’s hospitals and clinics.

To celebrate the transition, UB’s newest medical and dental residents put on the long white coats that indicate they have graduated, leaving behind the short white coats that they received as students.   

Allison Brashear, vice president for health sciences and dean of the Jacobs School, told the audience that UB is about improving the health of people in Western New York and across the country, and that in becoming UB residents they are joining the UB team to address the most pressing health challenges.

“We are all here to support you on your journey,” Brashear said. “It is my hope that you fall in love with Buffalo.”

Residents often choose to remain in the city where they do their residency. More than 70% of doctors and 90% of dentists in Western New York have some affiliation with UB, and many did their residencies at UB.

Marcelo Araujo,  dean of the School of Dental Medicine, added that for many people in the Western New York community, the UB dental school is their main source of dental treatment.

Gregory Cherr,  senior associate dean for graduate medical education, talked about the importance of humanism in medicine, noting that UB is one of only 14 medical residency programs in the U.S. that is home to a residency chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society.

At the ceremony, residents recited an oath that includes elements of the Hippocratic Oath and the UB Resident Code of Conduct. The ceremony occurs during Incoming Residents Week, during which residents receive information on topics ranging from health issues in Buffalo’s population and communication and cultural issues, to patient privacy, humanistic care and safety. There also is a focus on resident well-being, highlighting institutional support resources and advice from current residents.

The event was planned in collaboration with UB’s Richard Sarkin/Emeritus Faculty Chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society, which launched the tradition of holding white coat ceremonies in the 1990s to symbolize that humanism remains at the core of all medical care.